Ice sizing machine



June 8,19% F. W. BRADY 2,321, 25 1 ICE SIZING MACHINE Filed April 13, 1942 2 Shee ts-She'et' 1" FIE 'H INVEN TOR. Hank 14 zfiraag A TTOENE'Y J1me 1943- F. w. BRADY ICE SIZING MACHINE Filed April 13, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. 5-5/7? 14/ firadg fl 7'7'O/Z/VEY mu l-NFL Patented June 8, 1943 U'NHTED STATS EQE Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for producing ice of a size suitable for use by restaurants, bars and the like in drinks. Ice of this size, usually termed bar ice, has been made heretofore by placing a 50-pound or 300-pound block of ice in an ice crusher. Such a device commonly employs a tootheddrum, the ice riding on the to of the drum, and the teeth breaking and shaving pieces of ice from the block. The cost of bar ice produced by this machine is very high because the usable quantity produced is relatively small; too much pea ice and snow results, about 40% or more, while the usable product is quite irregular in size and shape and some portions must be rerun because they are too large.

Another method of manufacturing bar ice is to saw the ice into cubes about one and one-half inch on the side. However, the loss due to ice sawdust is about 135 pounds out of a 300-pound block. Another currently employed device is a cube machine which operates with electrical resistance wires heated by electrical energization. However, the loss by this method is practically the same as when the ice is sawed into cubes except that the waste is in the form of 'ice water and not ice sawdust,

In accordance with this invention I have .devised a machine in which the bar ice formed is of a substantially uniform size while the protion of the housing. As appears in Figure 4,

1 drum l8 includes an outer cylindrical shell l9 slots 24 providedin the side plates 9 and II and in the end plate l2. Eachbearing structure is is suitably secured by screws (not shown) to side plates 9 and II. The drum l8 includes a plurality of teeth 23 thereon which extendtangentially and outwardly from the faceof the duction of snow and pea ice is kept to a minimum, 5% and less.

It is in general the broad object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ice cracking or crushing machine enabling blocks of ice to be reduced to bar ice size with a minimum production of off-grade sizes such as'pea ice 1 and snow ice. 7

The invention includes other objects and features of advantage, someof which, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein the present preferred machine ofthis invention is disclosed.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, Figure 1 is a side elevation, while Figure 2 is an end view. Figure 3 is a. section taken along the line 3-3 'of Figure 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are respectively sections taken along the 1ine 4-4 and 5-5 in Figure 3.

A suitable housing is provided for the machine, this housingbeing generally indicated at '1. The machine is mounted upon a suitable base 8 so that itcan' be moved about readily. Housing 1 is shownas' made up of side plates 9 and II, end plate l2 and top plate l3. 'These are suitably joined together as by welding to provide an integral structure possessing the necessary strength and rigidity. I

An ice crusher drum I8 is mounted on a shaft I! for rotation therewith. The shaft I1 is journaled in bearing structures IS in the upper pordrum and in its direction of rotation.- These teeth are spaced across the face of the drum.

Ice is fed to the drum, usually in block form; to provide for ice feed I provide an ice block support plate 26 positioned to guide a block of ice into the drum and to engage it with the teeth thereon, The ice block support plate 26 is'usually formed of a single sheet'of metal 25, as appears in Figure 3, bent somewhat in the form of a figure U to provide an upper and a lower leg, the upper leg providing the ice block support plate 26 and the lower leg indicated at 2'5 providing a support for certain presently described mechanism. The ice block support plate 26 is also additionally supported by another plate member 28 which is in turn supported by threaded rods 29 and 30 which extend through the side plates 9 and II andare' retained in place by nuts 3|.

Plate 28, as appears in: Figures 3 and 4,'terminates in a break-off plate indicated at 32; this plate providing a plurality of saw tooth-like ends 33 which fit between each pair of the tangentially extending teeth 23 on the drum l8, Teeth 23 cooperate with the sawtooth ends 33 to provide ice chunks two to three inches thick, the ice chunks being received upon and deflected by a suitable deflector plate 34 which extends angularly between the side plates 9 and l I. Ice passing down along the deflector plate 34 is received upon plate 21, that providing the other leg of the U member 25, from which it passes on for further sizing and possibly for further comminution. This sizing and comminution is efiected by mechanism which includes a channel 36 on each side plate. These provide a partial support forplate 21 and also act as a guide and support for a movable carriage 38. The carriage includes side members 39 and 40, connecting plate 3'! which strengthen the carriage, and support the carriage in the channel guides 36. Members 4| and 42 mounted in the center of carriage 38 serve to carry adjusting threaded rod 43, member 4| being a guide boss and member 42 is threaded to receive the rod 43. A hand wheel 44 is provided at one end of the rod as an adjusting means for the carriage 38. The wheel engages and rotates on transvers angle iron 45 which is secured to plate 21 (Figure 3).

The lower end of the carriage 38 terminates in a combination screen or grid structure 48 provided by longitudinally extending knife-like bars 46 and knife-edge cross bar 41 positioned intermediate the ends of the longitudinal bars 46. This structure cooperates with a presently described second ice breaker.

A second drum indicated generally at 5| is provided. This drum is similar in construction to the drum l8, being mounted upon a shaft 52 carried in suitable bearings 53 on each side plate 9 and II and being inserted in place in the same manner, that is through the agency of slot 54. However, drum 5| carries a plurality of paddles 58 which extend outwardly from the surface thereof, each paddle being spaced across the drum periphery so that the paddles successively cooperate with the grid 48 formed by each adjacent pair of knife edges 46 and the transverse bar 41. The hand wheel 44 and the adjusting rod 43, together with the movable carriage, enable the relation between the knife edge 41 and the ends of the paddles 58 to be adjusted whereby the size of the ice cubes passed ca be varied.

To provide 'for operation of the drums I position a suitable sub-frame 6| on the end plate [2, On this I'mount a suitable source of power such as electric motor 62. Power from the motor drive shaft 63 is transmitted from pulley 64 thereon through a belt 66'to a larger pulley 61 positioned on shaft 52 of drum 5|. Drum I8 is driven from a small sprocket 68 provided on shaft 52 and through a chain 69 extended about sprocket H on shaft 11.

In operation, a block of ice is placed on plate 26 and fed into the unit, the motor 62 being at its lower end in a plurality of spaced bars extending toward said second shaft, a dividing bar extending parallel to said second shaft and forming a division member between rows of apertures extending across the lower edge thereof, said rows being spaced at different radial distances from the axis of said second rotatable shaft, the outermost row cooperating with said paddles to form ice of a predetermined size, and means for simultaneously rotating said shafts.

2. An ice cracking machine comprising a first rotatable shaft, a set of teeth spaced across and about said shaft and extending in the direction of rotation of said shaft, a plate for supporting a block of ice and feeding said ice toward said teeth, a break-off plate cooperating with said shaft and having a saw tooth edge extending toward said teeth with a tooth thereon extending between each adjacent pair of teeth on said shaft, means for rotating said first shaft at a rate equivalent to a tooth point speed of about 150 feet per minute, a deflector plate for directing ice chunks passing between said break-oil. plate and said teeth, a second rotatable shaft, a set of paddles spaced about second shaft, means for rotating said second shaft at a rate equivalent to a paddle edge speed of about 750 feet per in operation. The block moves in toward the drum l8 andis rapidly comminuted to small, regular chunks. These pass down to the drum 5|, particles smaller than the size desired bein passed through the openings between plate 31 and cross bar 4! of carriage 38 while larger sized V;

chunks are comminuted by the paddle cooperating with the extending longitudinal fingers 46 and the transverse bar 41. I have found that paddle drum 5| should operate'at about five times the speed of breaker drum I8 and that the breaker drum should operate at a relatively low speed, preferably at a rate of rotation equivalent to traverse of about 150 feet per minute. The lower drum preferably operates at a speed about five times greater than that of the upper drum. Ice passing the screen 48, or between it and the paddle drum 5|, is collected and removed by trough 1!. This ice can be screened to remove the small quantities of snow ice and pea ice present for these are usable and salableas such in limited quantities. The bar ice constitutes about 95% of the product.

I claim:

1. An ic'e crushing machine comprising a firs rotatable shaft, a set of teeth spaced across and about said shaft and extending in the direction of rotation of said shaft. a plate forsupporting a block of ice and feeding said ice toward said teeth, a break-off plate cooperating with said shaft andhaving a saw tooth edge extending toward s'a'id teeth with a tooth thereon extending between each adjacent pair of teeth on said shaft. a'defiector plate for directing ice chunks passing between said break-off plate and said teeth, a second rotatable shaft, a set of paddles spaced about said second shaft, a guide plate for receiving ice from said deflector and terminating minute, a guide plate for receiving ice from said deflector and terminating at its lower end in a plurality of spaced bars extending toward said second shaft, a dividing bar extending parallel to said second shaft and forming a division member between rows of apertures extending across the lower edge thereof, said rows being spaced at different radial distances from the axis of said secondrotat'able shaft, the outermost row 00- operating with said paddles to form ice of a predetermined size, and means for simultaneously rotating said shafts.

3. A machine as in claim 1 wherein the guide plate includes a screen for passing ice of a size such that it would pass freely between the paddles and the grill.

4. An ice sizing machine comprising a first rotatable drum having teeth thereon, a breakofi plate cooperating with said teeth, means for rotating said first drum at a rate equivalent to traverse of about feet per minute, means for feeding said ice block to said first drum, a second rotatable drum having paddles thereon, a grill cooperating with said paddles, and means for rotating said second drum at a rate equivalent to traverse of about 750 feet per minute, said grill and second drum receiving ice passing between said first drum and said break-off plate.

5. An ice cracking machine comprising a first rotatable drum having teeth thereon, a breakoff plate cooperatin'g'with said teeth, means for rotating said first drum at a rate equivalent to traverse of about 150 feet per minute, means for feeding'an ice block to said first drum, a second rotatable drum having paddles thereon. traverse of 'about 150 feet per minute, means for rotating said second drum at a rate equivalent to traverse of about 750 feet per minute, said grill and second drum receiving ice passing between said first drum and said break-off plate said grill including a screen section for screening ice from said first drum and another section fitting between said paddles to control the size of ice passing between said other section and said second drum.- 6 I I s FRANK W. BRADY. 

